Alibaba, Marriott team up to serve Chinese tourists

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on Monday unveiled a joint venture with Marriott International to allow Chinese travelers to book Marriott hotels through Alibaba's travel service website and app.

According to an announcement on the joint venture, Chinese tourists will be able to reserve Marriott's over 6,200 properties in 125 countries on Fliggy, the Chinese group's online platform, as well as the hotel chain's Chinese-language digital channels.

The hotel company said it will also accept Alipay, the online payment platform owned by Alibaba affiliate company Ant Financial.

Through the partnership, Marriott said it will be able to get access to Alibaba's 500 million monthly active mobile users to better market and engage with China's ever-growing consumer class.

"Together, we are elevating and redefining the travel experience for Chinese consumers to be more seamless and personalized as they embark on adventures to discover the world," said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, in a statement.

Shortly after the opening bell on Monday, shares of Alibaba soared nearly 2.1 percent to 156.50 U.S. dollars a share, while Marriott stocks rose nearly 1 percent to trade at 106.00 dollars a share.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group on Monday unveiled a joint venture with Marriott International to allow Chinese travelers to book Marriott hotels through Alibaba's travel service website and app.